“I was concerned a new head coach might want to bring in his own staff and get rid of the coaches who had been with these kids for so many years,” Fulcher said. “Steve talked to me about stepping in as the head coach, and it just seemed like a perfect fit.”
Gillens said Fulcher will bring much more than his considerable football experience to the position.
“His passion is to work with young men and try to build them into better people,” Gillens said. “He’s not here just for wins and losses. The biggest thing he’s here to do is shape the character of the guys. That’s what CCS is all about, build kids’ relationships with the Lord and teaching them how to be great young men.”
Fulcher said he’s not ready to set goals as far as wins and losses, but is he prepared to predict one thing: “We will be physical.”
“You’re talking to a guy who loved to hit people,” Fulcher said. “I give all the credit for the things I achieved to Dick LeBeau, my defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach. I would love to take a page out of his book to where my kids can play that aggressive on defense.
“I want to put our kids in position to make plays by just reacting,” he continued. “We want to keep it as simple as we can. We don’t want them thinking too much out there. Just react.”
As far as his coaching style, Fulcher said it won’t be anything like his playing persona.
“I’m a former player, so I like to think I’ll be a players’ coach,” he said. “I’m not here to brow beat any kids. I want to do more teaching than coaching.
“When a kid makes a mistake, I’ll ask him to explain what he did and then we’ll go fix it,” Fulcher added. “If they continue to make the same mistake, then we’ll have an issue.”
Fulcher said he will be in the school every day, although his exact duties have yet to be finalized.
The Cougars will return to the Miami Valley Conference this season after a two-year hiatus. They open at home Friday, Aug. 26, with a nonleague game against Cincinnati College Prep Academy.
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